Information Leaflet
Problems with your Drinking Water
Contents
- Introduction
- What do I do if I have a problem with my drinking water?
- What if I have a private water supply?
- What if it's not just me?
- When does the Inspectorate prosecute?
- How can I help?
- More information on drinking water quality
Introduction
Although drinking water in England and Wales is generally of very high quality there are very occasionally times when things can and do go wrong. It is part of the Drinking Water Inspectorate's job to look into consumer complaints and investigate incidents which affect or could affect drinking water quality.
What do I do if I have a problem with my drinking water?
You may now
and again have a problem with your drinking water. It should be clear and bright. If it
looks cloudy or discoloured or tastes different or smells funny then contact your water
company. Enquiry and emergency numbers are listed under WATER in your Telephone Directory.
OR contact us and we will investigate.
Drinking Water Inspectorate,
Room M03
55 Whitehall,
London, SW1A 2EY
Telephone : 020 7270 3370
Facsimile : 020 7270 3177
E-mail:
If there seems to be an immediate risk to health we will treat it as an emergency. However, in such cases the water company should have taken action immediately.
If it is not an emergency, our aim is to give you an answer within three weeks. If we cannot do that we will tell you what is happening.
What if I have a private water supply?
If your drinking water is not supplied by a water company then you should contact the Environmental Health Department of your local council regarding any problems. A free leaflet providing further information for owners and users of private water supplies is available on this web site.
What if it's not just me?
Sometimes things go wrong that affect a lot of people.
Water companies must tell us about incidents which affect or could affect drinking water
quality. We investigate all incidents. If necessary we can require water companies to take
action to put things right. We also decide whether there is a case to prosecute a company.
When does the Inspectorate prosecute?
We will
start a prosecution if we can show that the drinking water supplied was unfit for human
consumption and if we do not believe that the water company did all that it might
reasonably have been expected to do to prevent the incident.
How can I help?
This depends on
the sort of incident we are investigating.
- Water which tasted, smelt or looked bad.
When we are investigating this sort of incident, we write to people who complained to either the water company or local council and ask them to complete a simple questionnaire about the quality of their drinking water at the time of the incident. We also ask whether or not they continued to use it, if they would be willing to see one of our Inspectors to answer further questions and if they would make a statement.
- Water which may have caused an outbreak of illness
If illness is involved, we ask the Health Authority to contact those diagnosed as suffering from a complaint linked to drinking water and ask if they will agree to their names being given to us. If people agree to their names being given to us, we then contact them. We ask if they are willing to see an Inspector and if they are, an Inspector will arrange to visit them to ask a few questions about their consumption of water and how and when they were affected by the illness. We may ask consumers if they would be willing to make a statement.
Where can I get more information about drinking water quality?
Your water company's public record
You can see the record at one of the company's offices. Customer services staff will explain the result of tests and tell you what is being done to rectify any failures. You are entitled to a free copy of the record for the area in which you live. Alternatively, you can write to the company for details.
Your local authority
Water companies are required to give local authorities information about the quality of water supply in their areas.
Our Annual Reports
These are lengthy reports containing a great deal of detailed information about the quality of drinking water in England and Wales. They can be bought from The Stationery Office. You may be able to see a copy at a main library or at your water company's offices.
Our leaflet "How Good is Your Drinking Water"
This is produced each year and is a brief summary of our Annual Report.
